Category: sports marketing (Page 4 of 5)

And They Shall Lead Them With Jersey Gimmicks and Bobbleheads: Christmas Carols with Jackals

9 December, 2009 / Kat

Elmira, New York is a small city to the south of my hometown of Rochester. In my nearly twenty-eight years, Elmira has been most memorable in my mind for being near the Arnot Mall, the most unfortunately named mall in the history of mankind. (“You are-not a mall.”)

That is, until today.

On December 20, the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals will present “Christmas CD” night during their game against the Johnstown Chiefs. Attendees at the game will receive a Christmas CD of Jackals players singing Christmas carols. Yes, residents of the Twin Tiers and Southwestern New York, you can celebrate the holidays by being serenaded by ECHL players such as twin forwards Justin and Tyler Donati and minor league hockey journeyman Olivier Proulx (Look at his Hockey Database profile. Journeyman might be too mild of a term.)

In anticipation of their CD release, the Jackals posted the following behind-the-scenes video of the recording session. The voices. The majesty. The command. The….resemblance to thirteen year olds with cracking voices.

If this isn’t the perfect accompaniment for your family’s various holiday activities – such as driving around to find that street with the paper candelabras and white lights only to realize that the two feet of lake effect snow has buried the candelabras and knocked out the power (or maybe that’s just my family?) – I don’t know what CD is.

And They Shall Lead Them With Jersey Gimmicks and Bobbleheads: I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

17 November, 2009 / Kat

In an effort to make myself post more (don’t I lead a post with that phrase at least once every six months or so?), I bring you yet another reoccurring series: “And They Shall Lead Them With Jersey Gimmicks and Bobbleheads,” a look at interesting sports promotions. I’m always noising around the web for creative event promotions, especially when the office I work in full-time is asked to collaborate with Athletics in promoting soccer, basketball or hockey games. I’m not going to always bring you the funniest promotions – Deadspin and Puck Daddy do that far better than I ever could – but I will bring you promotions and teams that catch my eye for a number of reasons.

For those of you who follow my Twitter account, you will know that I have recently become obsessed with the ECHL. Sure, as a good hockey fan, I followed the minor league a little in the past. But this year, since my favorite Terrier of all time is playing in it, along with what seems like nearly every single college hockey player from the last two years, I’m following the league with much more gusto.

bakersfield_condors_2007 The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, located out in that Terrier-freshmen-class producing state of California, gets a lot of press for their inventive promotions. Already this season, they have held a Michael Jackson jersey night, which was featured all across the blogosphere. The Condors wore MJ styled jerseys with one white glove, and auctioned off the jerseys to benefit Children’s Miracle Network.

The promotion that caught my eye, however, isn’t as bold as the Condors’ tribute to America’s favorite petafile. The Condors announced this week their “Who Ya Bringing” program, where the encourage existing season ticket holders to bring friends by giving them a free ticket per every seat they own per month. For example, if you own two season tickets, you are eligible to claim two free tickets per month during the length of the promotion.

The hope of this promotion is to convert these guests of season ticket holders to ticket plan holders themselves. The Condors will offer $100 to any season ticket holder whose guest subsequently purchases season tickets, and $25 if a guest purchases a flex-plan. Continue reading

Dear The Sports Hub: Please, Just Hire a Woman.

14 July, 2009 / Kat

Dear 98.5 The Sports Hub,

You were quite the topic of conversation on Tuesday, appearing literally out of nowhere with the sudden morning announcement of the demise of WBCN. With your August 13th arrival, Boston will be home to four sports radio stations – fitting really, given that Boston is the capital of obsessive sport fandom.

Before you go around stealing talent from the existing three stations (which you are already rumoured to be doing), let’s talk about one aspect of Boston Sports Radio that no one ever mentions:

Where are the women?

Yes, there is a woman, Jayme Parker, who does WEEI’s Sports Flashes on occasion. And WEEI.com recently hired a recent BU grad to host it’s morning video clip segment and do brief sound bites. Yes, many of the upper administrators calling the shots on WEEI and ESPN890, like Julie Kahn (Vice President of Entercom Radio New England) and Jessamy Tang (General Manager of 890ESPN), are some strong-willed and successful females. But besides that, Boston sports radio is all male dominated.

In 2009, when one of the most consistent and coveted football analysts/hosts of the past decade is female (Suzy Kolber), and when the Red Sox beat writer for the largest newspaper in Boston is female (the Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin), and when our regional sports television network host is female (NESN’s Kathryn Tappen), why are females largely absent from manning the microphones in Boston’s sports radio scene?

Five Questions With…Matt Fults of Rival Films (The Battle of Comm Ave.)

12 July, 2009 / Kat

The Boston College – Boston University hockey rivalry has been fought for approximately 91 years, and to some sports fans, it may be one of the best rivalries in all of college athletics. Geography is what makes the rivalry unique, since the two schools lie on the same street, on the same street car line, and in the same hockey conference.

Given that both BC and BU have combined to win the last two NCAA Division I Championships, their tradition-laced rivalry has started to receive additional national attention. Sure to add to this national spotlight will be the November release of The Battle of Comm Ave, a documentary on the rivalry by Utah-based Rival Films. The film will premiere on NESN, with an DVD release following. Rival Films’ Matt Fults agreed to answer some questions about the film, the company’s use of social media, and about his own favorite sports documentaries. Continue reading

There’s No Crying in Vintage Baseball Wear

26 April, 2009 / Kat

I am still working on the eagerly awaited first annual “Sports Girl Kat College Hockey Year End Awards”, and in the meanwhile, have decided to share with you all one of my new latest fashion finds. (Me? Fashionable? Yes.)

Before it was even universally accepted, my casual wear has consisted of sports related shirts and jeans (or jean skirts when the weather obliges.) Thankfully, instead of wearing super large, nearly dress like football jerseys or t-shirts, many lines have come out that cater to women like me. I featured one back in January (CPR Gear) and am featuring yet another one today – Vintage Blue.

"Dottie" a t-shirt by Vintage-Blue

Vintage Blue is a female owned company out of Philadelphia (but with Boston ties – owner Liza Gonclaves was raised in Boston) who hold the exclusive license to The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League images and team names. If you have seen the movie A League of Their Own (and really, who hasn’t?) you know of the AAGPBL, which was the first professional sporting league for women in the 1940s. While a large portion of America’s men were overseas in the World War II effort, women’s baseball took the place of men’s baseball to provide sports fans with professional baseball to watch.

Vintage Blue creates t-shirts and tote bags with images from this classic and unique time in baseball history, all cut quite fashionably. These shirts make kind of-sort of tomboy me look like I actually tried to look awesomely cool. Upon first glance, they just look like retro, comfy shirts with a fun design, but up close, you figure out that the designs are sports related.

"Martha," a very neat V-Neck that I so am buying, by Vintage Blue

In addition, just in time for the end of Earth Week, this line of shirts is eco-friendly, using chemical-free fabric and recycled paper for all tags and marketing materials. The company has been featured in a bunch of recent “Green Expos” along the Eastern Seaboard. They also contribute 5% of their profits to non-profits around the Philadelphia area and beyond, and supporting programs that encourage positive encouragement and outlets for young women.

Right now, Vintage Blue shirts are being sold in the neighborhood outside Phillies home games, at various Philly retailers and at boutiques like Boston’s Bodega. Their full line is available at their website, which also has their line of non-baseball related shirts. Even if you aren’t interested in their shirts, their website is one of the better web designs I have seen recently – graphically, it’s very unique.

The dear ladies of Vintage Blue – most especially Liza – have passed along a coupon for readers of …On Being a Sports Girl: Buy their “Catch a Foul, Steal a Kiss” shirt, and get one of their totes for free. Not too shabby! Thanks Vintage Blue, and keep churning out these fun shirts!

Catch A Foul, Get a Kiss Offer from Vintage Blue

I’m always looking for neat sportswear companies to feature on my blog. If you would like to tell me all about your line, email me at sportsgirlkat@gmail.com